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If you’re a business that’s enacted any sort of marketing effort in recent yours, you’ve doubtless heard people singing accolades to something called “SEO.” Nearly every marketing website will mention something to do with SEO on a daily basis. You may have heard terms like “keywords,” “black hat” and “white hat” used regularly, and you may have wondered what on earth it all means. SEO is actually a valuable tool you can use to boost your marketing efforts, and with a little investment of time, it’s not all that difficult to understand what it means and how to use it.

What is SEO?

SEO stands for “search engine optimization.” It revolves around the concept of driving traffic from search engines to your website. All major search engines such as Google, Yahoo!, and Bing use an algorithm to search websites via keywords to find results most relevant to the user. SEO is an umbrella term for all the strategies involved in attempting to improve search engine rankings. The higher your website ranks, the more likely users are to click on it. For example, if your website shows up in the first page of Google’s results list, it’s chances of being visited are astronomically higher than if your website is listed on the 3000th page.

How to Use SEO

The first step in search engine optimization is selecting keywords (more accurately, key phrases) for your business. Keywords are what users type into places like Google when they are searching for products, answers, and services. You optimize your company’s webpages by assigning keywords to those pages.

In selecting keywords, think of what people would type in if they were searching for your business’s service on a search engine. You want your keywords to be clear and specific. Anything too broad and you will fall behind on search results. Inserting your location is often a great way to narrow down results and bring traffic to your website. For example, let’s say you run a gourmet bakery in Scottsdale, Arizona. Example keywords you might use are “gourmet pastries Scottsdale” or “Scottsdale gourmet bakery.” These are specific enough that they bring attention to your website.

If you’re still not what keywords to use, there are many online tools you can utilize to assist your research efforts. Keyword research is a slow and sometimes arduous process, but an extremely important one, so don’t get discouraged or frustrated.

Beware of Black Hat SEO

“White hat” and “black hat” SEO are slang terms for different types of SEO. White hat SEO tactics are the ones you want—these are strategies that optimize by creating a good quality website. In contrast, people who use black hat tactics attempt to cheat search engines by using some less than savory methods.

Black hat SEO strategies may seem appealing in the short run, but they are irritating to visitors and can even get your website banned from a search engine in the long run. They utilize tactics such as keyword stuffing (overusing targeted keywords to the point that the website no longer even reads correctly), using hidden text or links, implementing doorway pages (pages that are used just for keywords and have no value to a human visitor), and so on. Avoid black hat “experts” at all costs!

Contact Servistree for Your Business Needs

If you’re still building your website, or need other business services such as email marketing, credit card processing, social media marketing and more, don’t waste time dealing with multiple companies. Servistree is your one-stop shop for all your business needs. We provide smart, affordable solutions to businesses, helping them grow and reap in success. Contact us at sales@servistree.com or visit our user-friendly website, www.servistree.com